Local pattern designer, entrepreneur,

photos and story by Anita Zhu

TOP LEFT: Pot holder design by Good.

ABOVE: Sheena Randahl works on her project at the community sewing class.

LEFT: Tools and supplies used at the community sewing class, used for measuring and cutting fabric.

RIGHT: Handmade wallets by Good, fabricated from used plastic bags.

LOWER LEFT: Design by Good, titled "ignaz," a repeat pattern inspired by a contour drawing of her father.

LOWER RIGHT: a pair of scissors from the community sewing class.

Struggles in online business

The small business sector in B.C. is a vital part of the economy. Nearly 1.1 million British Columbians worked in small businesses in 2018. Fabienne Good is a local entrepreneur, and manages an online business and presence through several E-commerce sites. Good says it is very important to keep an online presence active and professional to maintain relevance. Through Redbubble, Good submits her digital files to the website for potential customers to browse. From there, the company will do everything including deciding on the sales price. Redbubble manufactures their own clothes, sourcing from different countries depending on where the customers live. Good said that this method is supposed to be low waste and ethical, but can be quite expensive as the website takes a significant part of the cut.

“I do it because it's exciting to have my designs on clothes, but it's not really the best business model,” she said.

Good is now looking to local retail stores in Vancouver to sell her productions.

“A lot of those places will take like 50 to 75 per cent of the artist's earnings as well, so it's good for exposure,” she said. “It’s just a matter of finding good places that will properly represent your work.”